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Sterling extended the previous two days’ losses today as a struggling retail sector and a widening trade deficit raised concerns among some investors that the currency’s recent gains could be overdone.

The British currency fell to a two-week low in early trades, with some market analysts saying the pound’s decline this week opens the door to more losses in the near term.

Of all the currencies, the fundamentals are weakest for sterling, and we have a critical technical level here with the pattern for the last few days looking remarkably similar to the highs last September.

Economic data has also weighed this week, with the British trade balance for November widening to its biggest in five months, putting further pressure on sterling bets.

British economic growth likely hit a one-year high in the three months to December, the National Institute for Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said.

Britain could lose almost 500,000 jobs and 50 billion pounds investment over the next 12 years if it fails to agree a trade deal with the European Union, according to a report commissioned by London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Cambridge Econometrics, an economics consultancy, looked at five different Brexit scenarios, from the hardest to the softest form of Brexit, and broke down the economic impact on nine industries, from construction to finance.

The study said that in a no-deal scenario, the industry that fares the worst will be financial and professional services, with as many as 119,000 fewer jobs nationwide.